There continue to be reports of bears (mostly black bears) throughout the Bow Valley (on both sides of the valley), in and around Canmore in residential areas and in the nearby MD of Bighorn hamlets. Black bear tracks have also recently been spotted at the Canmore Nordic Centre.

Grizzly bear activity in Kananaskis Country has increased in the past week as is evident by the closure and warning listed below. Check out this interview that discusses the multiple grizzly bears that are moving around this landscape looking for food. Several mother bears have already been spotted emerging from their dens with their cubs. Make sure you give these mothers and their young lots of space!

At this time of year, bears in this area are often found in the valley bottoms looking for foods such as fresh shoots, roots, bulbs, and dandelions. This can result in an increased chance of encounters with humans as we spend most of our time in the valley bottoms too!

The ditches will be greening up along the highways in the Bow Valley very shortly and that is going to draw all kinds of wildlife into the ditches looking for that green grass. Motorists need to obey speed limits and constantly scan for wildlife feeding in the ditches. We see a high mortality rate of wildlife from vehicles in the Bow Valley, so we want all motorists to travel safely and help protect our wildlife by understanding that the likelihood of encountering wildlife on or close to the road is increased during the spring season.

If you must stop on roadways to view wildlife it must be done in a safe manner. Take your picture from a distance and move on, do not linger at the location and never exit your vehicle to take a picture. Never feed wildlife or encourage wildlife to come closer to your vehicle.

You can reduce the risk of bear encounters if you remain vigilant when recreating outdoors! Make lots of noise to alert animals of your presence, travel in groups, keep dogs on leash, be aware of your surroundings and recognize signs of wildlife (i.e. tracks/scat), and carry bear spray in an easily accessible location and know how to use it. Bear spray should be carried while walking on the trails in and around town.

Here is an interesting article about a local inventor who recently developed a new way to carry your bear spray!

A reminder that it is elk calving season! This means that there are going to be some spotted fawns running around soon! It also means that we need to be very vigilant of mother elk and their calves who may be hiding in dense vegetation. Leave at least 30 meters of space between yourself and all elk. Make sure you keep your dog on a leash. Mother elk can become very defensive if they feel threatened.

-Bear Warning - The Kananaskis Country Golf Course including the staff housing area, parking lots, the Club House and other buildings, and the golf course maintenance compound due to multiple grizzly bears frequenting the area.

-There is an ongoing Seasonal Wildlife Closure on the trails within the designated wildlife corridor in Bow Valley Wildland Provincial Park adjacent to the Canmore Nordic Centre.

*Bears are not only found in closure and warning areas. You should always remain alert while walking, hiking, running and biking, and remember that bears can be encountered anytime, anywhere!

A complete list of all warnings and closures are available here for anyone visiting Kananaskis Country and Alberta Parks.

A complete list of all warnings and closures are available here for Banff National Park.

The information above is based upon a compilation of bear information provided by government agencies and unconfirmed sightings reported by the public over the last week. It is not intended to be used as a real time, complete record of where bears are in the valley.

And Now some Paws-itive News

We educate people on how to be more proactive and avoid encounters with wildlife. Encounters still occur and we like to make sure those encounters are pawsitive ones. If you want to become more ‘bear aware’, want to learn how to use bear spray, and want to learn more about our wildlife, come to our ‘Wildlife Safety for Bow Valley Families Workshop’ on May 16 from 6-8pm at Bow Valley Parent Link in Canmore. Registration is required for this FREE event for all ages and there is free childcare available. For more information or to register, phone 403.678.2529, email parentlinkcanmore@canmore.ca or sign up at any Bow Valley Parent Link Centre. We hope to see you there!

Please remember BEARS CAN BE ENCOUNTERED ANYWHERE, ANYTIME!

Important Note:

Please do not use the comment box to report sightings of wildlife.

Report any sightings of a bear, cougar, wolf or any aggressive wildlife in Kananaskis or the Bow Valley to Kananaskis Emergency Services 403.591.7755

What is this?The above tag cloud is a visual depiction of Zones used for reporting Bear & Wildlife Activity. The bigger the font, the more activity. Click on any Zone to view all related Activity Reports.